The present invention relates generally to a seedling flat, and more particularly, to a plant container constructed to facilitate the removal of growing plants therefrom. Although many types of seedling flats have been developed over the years, a problem that continually plagues the plant growing industry concerns the difficulty of removing a plant from its growing compartment in a high production setting without damaging the dirt ball and root structure of the plant. This problem has been addressed by providing seedling flats, in some instances, with knock out bottom walls that are pushed upwardly to remove the plants from the compartments. A force large enough to knock out the bottom wall may cause the bottom wall to impact against the dirt ball causing it to disintegrate. Further, a bottom wall that is removable from the plant container must be manually separated from the dirt ball and becomes extra litter that must be disposed of thereby causing additional handling costs.
In applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,643, a germinating tray is disclosed having a plurality of growing compartments, each consisting of upright sidewalls and a slitted bottom wall. The plant and soil retained in each compartment can be ejected downwardly through the bottom wall and into a soil bed by the downward movement of a plunger through the compartment. The downward ejection of the plants is feasible since the plant itself is small and a plunger can be provided having a relatively large cross-sectional area and configured so that it will not damage the plant.
However, different considerations are involved when the plant has attained a more advanced state of development. Since the plant is larger, it is impractical to push it downwardly through the container because of the increased likelihood of damage to the plant by the plunger. Also with a larger container there is more surface area in each compartment to which the soil can stick thereby increasing the chances that the dirt ball will disintegrate when it is ejected from the compartment. If the plant is removed by manually grasping the plant above the soil, destruction of the entire plant is probable.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a plant container that facilitates the removal of the plant and soil therefrom.
It is another object of this invention to provide a plant container which enables the ejection of the plant and soil by the upward movement of an ejector through the bottom of the container.